As the news and media industry continues to be disrupted by digital technologies and the overall content landscape evolves, new types of niche content creators have started to find big success online. One area in particular that we find to be incredibly interesting here at Pinyadda is inbound marketing. Companies in any industry now have the ability to directly engage consumers and clients through media production, and the art and science of inbound marketing is becoming more important for anyone trying to reach people online.
This week’s Publisher Spotlight focuses on a top Pinyadda community member, Greg Elwell, who is an inbound marketing expert who owns and operates ZephyrMarketing.net. Greg is a Hubspot certified Inbound marketing partner and professional, who wrote one of the best posts breaking down the power of Pinyadda to date. For anyone interested in social media, inbound marketing or marketing in general, we strongly suggest you follow Greg and the Zephyr Marketing blog on Pinyadda and on Twitter. Below is our interview with Greg:
Cgarb: Tell me about ZephyrMarketing.net’s angle as an online publisher.
Greg: ZephyrMarketing.Net is primarily a blog to help local, small- to medium-sized businesses be more visible, credible and remarkable with their online marketing efforts.
Cgarb: At Pinyadda, we are fascinated with companies that create content and media to drive sales of their product or services, can you tell us a little bit about the history of how you began Zephyr?
Greg: I started Zephyr Marketing LLC about 5 years ago. Just prior to starting Zephyr I was the director of business marketing, west region for Nextel Communications.
Cgarb: Who would love your site, and what types of people need to know about Zephyr Marketing?
Greg: I get a lot of people from GenY to Baby Boomers finding practical advice and how-to information on the site. Being a boomer myself, and knowing this generation didn’t grow up in the computer and digital age, new technologies and modern marketing are many times difficult for them to grasp. So, I provide not only the why or strategic side of these, but also the how do they work, and how you can make them work for you side.
Cgarb: How is Zephyr’s content different from other sites covering similar topics?
Greg: As I mentioned above, the zephyr site appeals to people who are looking for in-depth information on inbound and social media marketing strategies and technologies. There are many whitepapers and how-to guides on how to develop a strategy and then begin using the tools effectively to grow your business.
Some of the more popular resources available in the blog or as downloads include:
- Twitter Guide for Local Business Marketing
- Planning to Set Up a Facebook Fan Page
- How to Set Up a Facebook Fan Page
- Intro to Google’s Local Business Listings
- Create a Killer Google Local Business Listing
- 16 Tips for Gaining More Fans on Facebook
- How to Start a Successful Blog
- The 6 Stages of Content Marketing
- An Inbound Marketing Traffic Calculator
- Pinyadda: A Socially Enabled Listening Tool
I’m learning constantly myself and turning what I learn into action in my life and business; then sharing it with others. I love getting new ideas and then trying them out.
But I also am careful to respect the relationship side of social media. Using social media is most effective when you build relationships and share useful, relevant content. It troubles me when I see the abuse of social media tools by those who use them as a direct response vehicle.
We are so fortunate we have the tools and access to be able to build and share our personal brand, what we’re passionate about, and work at doing good – making a difference. I like what Tim O’Reilly said at a conference last year: “Create more value than you capture.” I hope Zephyr and B2B Inbound will always be found to reflect that sentiment.
Cgarb: Do you run Zephyr and B2B Inbound all by yourself? That is pretty impressive.
Greg: The ZephyrMarketing.net site is run solely by myself. I’ve developed a process to supply what I call, “Local Business Social Media Marketing” that involves 4 phases: Planning, Building, Engaging and Managing. It’s part DIY and part managed services. I also handle the technical aspects of setting up accounts, configuring and optimizing them.
A typical solution integrates a WordPress, self-hosted blog on the Headway Theme along with Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn accounts.